5th Edition Glossary - Association for Project Management

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Glossary of project management termsActual expenditure The money thathas already been paid.Actual finish The date on which anactivity was completed.Actual start The date on which anactivity was started.Actual time expended The elapsed timefrom the beginning of an activity todate.Adjudication The legal process bywhich an arbiter or other independentthird party reviews evidence and argumentation,including legal reasoning,set forth by opposing parties to come toa decision or judgement which determinesrights and obligations betweenthe parties involved.Agile development A family of methodologieswhere the developmentemphasises real time communicationand software.Alliancing An arrangement wherebytwo or more organisations agree to managea contract or range of contractsbetween them jointly. See partnering.Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)The collective term for settling disputeswith the help of an independent thirdparty without a court hearing. Forexample arbitration, adjudication andmediation.Arbitration The process of using athird party appointed to settle adispute.Arrow* A direct connecting linebetween two nodes in a network.Arrow diagram*network.See activity-on-arrowArrow diagram method (ADM) Oneof two conventions used to represent anactivity in a network diagram. Alsoknown as activity-on-arrow method.As late as possible (ALAP) An activityfor which the early start date is set aslate as possible without delaying theearly dates of any successor.Associated revenue* That part of aproject cost that is of a revenue natureand therefore charged as incurred to theprofit and loss account.As soon as possible (ASAP) An activityfor which the early start date is set tobe as soon as possible. This is thedefault activity type in most projectscheduling systems.Assumptions Statements that will betaken for granted as fact and upon whichthe project business case will be justified.Assurance The process of examiningwith the intent to verify. See qualityassurance.Audit* The systematic retrospectiveexamination of the whole, or part, of aproject or function to measure conformancewith predetermined standards.Authorisation points The points atwhich the business case is reviewed andapproved.Avoid A response to a threat thateliminates its probability or impact onthe project.Backward pass* A procedure wherebythe latest event times or the latest finishand start times for the activities of a networkare calculated.Balanced matrix An organisationalmatrix where functions and projectshave the same priority.Bar chart* A chart on which activitiesand their durations are represented bylines drawn to a common timescale. SeeGantt chart.Base date A reference date used as abasis for the start of a project calendar.126
Glossary of project management termsBaseline* The reference levels againstwhich the project is monitored andcontrolled.Baseline cost(s) The amount ofmoney a project or activity wasintended to cost when the project planwas baselined.Baseline date(s) The original plannedstart and finish dates for a project or anactivity when the schedule wasbaselined.Baseline plan The fixed project plan.It is the standard by which performanceagainst the project plan is measured.Baseline schedule The fixed projectschedule. It is the standard by whichproject schedule performance ismeasured.Behavioural characteristics The elementsthat separate and describe aperson’s preferred way of acting,interacting and reacting in a variety ofsituations.Benchmarking A review of whatother organisations are doing in thesame area. For those organisations whoappear to be particularly successful inwhat they do and how they do it and aretaken to be examples to be emulated, i.e.used as benchmarks.Benefit The quantifiable and measurableimprovement resulting from completionof project deliverables that isperceived as positive by a stakeholder.It will normally have a tangible value,expressed in monetary terms, that willjustify the investment.Benefits framework An outline of theexpected benefits of the project (orprogramme), the business operationsaffected and current and target performancemeasures. The totality of plansand arrangements to enable the organisationto realise the defined benefitsfrom a project or programme ofprojects.Benefits management The identificationof the benefits (of a project orprogramme) at an organisational leveland the tracking and realisation of thosebenefits.Benefits management plan A plan thatspecifies who is responsible for achievingthe benefits set out in the benefitsprofiles and how achievement of thebenefits is to be measured, managed andmonitored.Benefits profile A representation ofwhen the benefits are planned to berealised.Benefits realisation The practice ofensuring that the outcome of a projectproduces the projected benefits.Benefits realisation review A reviewundertaken after a period of operationsof the project deliverables. It isintended to establish that projectbenefits have or are being realised.Bid A tender, quotation or any offer toenter into a contract.Bid analysistenders.An analysis of bids orBidding The process of preparing andsubmitting a bid or tender.Bid list A list of contractors or suppliersinvited to submit bids for goodsor services.Blueprint A document defining anddescribing what a programme isdesigned to achieve in terms of the businessvision and the operational vision.Body of Knowledge An inclusive termthat describes the sum of knowledgewithin the profession of project management.As with other professions,such as law and medicine, the body of127
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5th Edition Glossary - Association for Project Management

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